Is eHow Worth the Effort?

          I'm a skeptic. Each day emails arrive in my inbox proclaiming they can make me rich. I scan the contents in my preview screen and then delete. Many of the programs remind me of the old envelope stuffing scheme. Remember? Long before the Internet and emails, envelope stuffing job ads were typically found in the classifieds of newspapers or magazines.
          In my younger days, a friend answered one such ad and received a large envelope packed with information on how to get rich at home stuffing envelopes. He couldn’t figure out what the program was about and showed it to me.  I was equally confused. He never asked for a refund, since he felt the initial payment wasn't worth the effort.  That is what the scam counted on.
          There are countless web pages promising to make you money.  But, if you think one will make you rich, then you are as optimistic as my long ago friend and I’m afraid you’ll be as disappointed.  But, there are a few places you can make a little money. One of those places is a website called eHow. Will it make you rich? I seriously doubt it.  But, it is possible to bring you some extra cash each month.  If you enjoy writing and sharing information, then you might have some fun while turning a modest profit.  And if you visit their forum, you can meet some nice people. While I can’t promise you will make any money, I can share with you my experiences with eHow.

          Ehow is an extensive collection of how-to articles.  Some are written by freelance writers (typically through Demand Studios) and some articles are written by the general public….you, for example.  Ehow shares the advertising revenues with the contributors. How much? I haven’t a clue. That is an eHow secret. But don’t let it scare you off.  Read on.

          I joined eHow in July of 2008.  I have almost 300 articles on the website, over a 15 month period. In the last 4 months I’ve written only a handful of articles – 1 in July, 5 in August, 1 in September and 2 in October.  As I write this, we are half way through October, so it is possible that I may write more this month.
          Has it been worth it to me? Well, during the first week of October I received my eHow payment for September.  It was $242.  Not bad, considering I spent less than an hour in September writing for eHow.
          I’m not one of the big money makers at eHow. There are some writers who make double (or more) than I do, for the same number of articles. Those writers spend more time promoting their articles, paying attention to trends and keywords.  I simply write what suits my fancy at the moment.

Here is a breakdown of what I’ve made since I began:

July 2008
I didn’t make payout that first month.  You have to make at least $10 to get paid. If you don’t make the minimum, they carry it over to the next month. (Payment is through Paypal.)
 
August 2008
I made payment that month. Between July and August, my total was almost $25.
 
September 2008
I made almost $27 for September.  More than I made for the previous two months.
 
October – December 2008
My payout edged up to $40 and then $70 for December 2008.  By the end of 2008 I had about 150 articles on eHow.  I may have had a few more, which I lost in the sweep (more about that later).
 
January 2009
My payout went slightly over $100 for January. 
 
February – June 2009
My average - $189 per month.
 
July, August & September 2009
This is where it gets interesting. At least, I think so.  When July rolled around, I pretty much stopped writing for eHow.  In July I marked my 1-year Anniversary as an eHow contributor.  But, I was busy with other projects and only managed to knock out 7 articles over the three month period.  In spite of that, my eHow pay continued to roll in….and increase.
 
July and August were almost identical to the previous months – with a $191 monthly average.  But September – I jumped to $242.  And by the looks of my daily earnings, October will either match or beat September. Considering I am not spending time at eHow, I would definitely say eHow is worth the effort.

          I mentioned the infamous sweeps.  That is when the eHow powers that be go through the articles and remove any that don’t meet their guidelines.  I’ve lost a few – and with most I understand.
          When I first started writing at eHow things were rather loose.  Lots of folks trying to *get rich* quick, and many threw up hundreds of silly how-to articles.  Foolish articles like how to pick your nose, plus lots of obvious how-to articles. 
          Ehow now enforces its writer’s guidelines.  A few of my early articles were lost to the sweep because they didn’t conform to the guidelines.  And a few were lost because they were considered *spam*, in that they promoted something.  On a few, I disagree – I don’t believe they were spam.  But it is their website and they have the right to delete what they want.

          One of the oldest questions: how much do you make per article? While we don’t know the secret to eHow’s payouts, we do know it is not tied to the visitors per page.  I’ve had some articles with phenomenal views, and never made more than a few pennies. I suspect those articles had poor paying ads – or inappropriate for the topic.
          Some of my articles have made over $100, and those aren’t necessarily the ones that have the most readers.

•Sign up for the writer compensation program. It is possible to sign up for an account and contribute articles, and not be eligible for any compensation. You need to sign up.

•Write articles that give the reader valuable information.

•Write according to the eHow format guidelines (such as starting each step with a verb).

•Don’t spam.

•Don’t copy other people’s work.

•Only use photos that you have the right to use – don’t cut and paste from other websites!

•Don’t click on your ads or encourage others to (the Google Gods will know, and you will be banned for life).

•Be friendly on the eHow forum.

•Have fun.

•Don’t imagine writing for eHow will make you rich. But, it may pay your car payment.

10-20-2009 - Bobbi Holmes

UPDATE: Ehow has discontinued its Writer Compensation Program.  While they continue to pay writer compensation to existing eHow articles, new articles are now supplied through Demand Studios and its writers - 2010